Saturday Lineup Card: Brighter Days Ahead for Butler

Hailing from Arcanum, Ohio, Clay is a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He began writing for RotoWire in the fall of 2011, and now contributes to breaking news and NFL Draft content, in addition to his duties as assistant baseball editor.

Chicago Cubs - Hector Rondon had his worst outing of the season Friday, as he gave up three runs on four hits in an inning against the Marlins. It was just his second blown save of the year, but both have come in his last five appearances, and he’s seen his ERA increase by 114 points over that span. Still, the right-hander has earned himself a couple of mulligans with his overall body of work in the closer role, and there really are not any other viable options for manager Rick Renteria. Pedro Strop has tossed three scoreless frames since returning from a groin injury, but he flopped earlier this season and it’s somewhat difficult to imagine Wesley Wright, Justin Grimm or Carlos Villanueva getting a chance anytime soon. Jose Veras, who opened the year as the Cubs’ closer, was designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Recommended Pickup
Eddie Butler, P, COL - Regardless of his performance Friday night against the Dodgers -- it wasn't pretty -- Butler still makes for an intriguing option in most formats. The 23-year-old right-hander was promoted to take Franklin Morales’ spot in the rotation, after posting a 2.49 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 11 starts for Triple-A Colorado Springs to begin the year. The strikeouts have been down (5.2 K/9 at Triple-A), but Butler averaged nearly a strikeout per inning last season and certainly has the arsenal to miss bats at the highest level. Of course, his home ballpark will scare some off, but Butler has been able to keep the ball in the yard in the minors, surrendering a total of 13 home runs in 286 career innings. He also commands his pitches fairly well, and the Rockies figure to let him learn on the job, especially after Jordan Lyles (hand) hit the DL on Thursday.